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Kelunia Map Redesign

Well this is only like the fourth time or so I've reworked this map, hah.

Anyhoo, Kelunia is a small continent near the equator of its world, rather hot and somewhat deserty, especially in the eastern bit, much of which is not shown here, since the important part is the western piece, which is the top in this map. The forested country on the right side is actually the northernmost country on the map. The mountains near the top are far west, and cold of course, due to being... well... mountains. The map is oriented this way because I wanted to emphasize the flow of the Naida river, which is sort of like the Nile in its importance here. Any and all features of terrain and such may or may not be technically correct beyond looking good and sounding relatively plausible. Any corrections are welcome.

Trying to figure out how to do the towns here; I'm looking for alternatives to the usual dot markers, mostly because I don't think I really pull them off well. Still thinking about it though; any ideas would be much appreciated. I'm also wondering about how to show that bits of the map are deserty or graslandy or what-have-you without resorting to color. (Eventually, I'm sure labels will be helpful, but that's for after I get all the features down correctly, hehehe.)

I'm finally making a new brush set; I think this one is looking quite nice so far. I've finally figured out some mountains that I'm happy with. Once I feel like the set is finished, I'll put it up here and on deviantART as a resource, since my other one has done so well.

Thanks so much~

North or south or east or west, where to point your shoes...?
Which direction is the best?
If the choosing gets confusing, maybe it's the map you're using....

Very nice, I've never completed a map in this sort of style before, but I know what you mean about reworking things lots. You could perhaps make the town markers an "icon" of a little cluster of buildings. With a little wall if it's fortified. And then a couple of little huts would be a village. A little keep would mark a castle, and so on.

If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)

Looking good so far StarRaven. Since you are making your own brushes for hills, mountains and trees, why not make some for towns and villages as well? Seems like it would fit in well with the hand-drawn motif of the map.

I don't think the position of the lighting is as important as the lighting being consistent. I don't think there's any particular reason for it. Do most maps have the light coming from the east? I hadn't realized. Hmm.

Yes, I planned on having hand-drawn town icons, I just wasn't sure what they should look like. Here's my ideas so far:

And on the map:

I am considering writing in labels in that wonky symbol font in order to avoid having to come up with names. Just until I think of names, of course.

North or south or east or west, where to point your shoes...?
Which direction is the best?
If the choosing gets confusing, maybe it's the map you're using....